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Arab ministers demand Trump rescind Jerusalem decision

A general view taken on December 9, 2017, shows a general view of the Arab League headquarters during an emergency foreign ministers meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo, following the US president's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. (AFP)

Arab ministers demand Trump rescind Jerusalem decision

CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers on Saturday called on the United States to rescind its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and for the international community to recognize a Palestinian state.
In a resolution after an emergency meeting in Cairo, Arab League member ministers said that the United States had “withdrawn itself as a sponsor and broker” of the Israel Palestinian peace process with its controversial move.
The ministers met at the league’s headquarters in Cairo to formulate a response to the US decision, which has been roundly criticized in the Arab world and internationally.
The move by US President Donald Trump is “denounced and condemned,” Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit told the ministers at the beginning of the meeting.
The ministers agreed on “demanding that the United States rescind its decision on Jerusalem...and the calling on the international community to recognize the state of Palestine...with east Jerusalem as its capital.”
They also said they would head to the United Nations Security Council for a resolution condemning the US decision as a violation of international law.
The decision has sparked protests and clashes in Palestinian territories since Trump announced the decision on Wednesday which drew criticism from every other member of the UN Security Council at an emergency meeting on Friday.

Calm in Hodeidah as observers move in to monitor cease-fire

“Both parties said publicly they are abiding by the cease-fire,” a UN official said

The truce in Hodeidah officially began at midnight on Monday

Updated 19 December 2018

Arab News

December 19, 2018 03:09

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JEDDAH: Truce monitoring observers will be deployed in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday as the first 24 hours of a UN-brokered cease-fire passed without incident.

The Redeployment Coordination Committee comprises members of the Yemeni government supported by the Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi militias backed by Iran, and is overseen by the UN.

The head of the committee will report to the UN Security Council every week.

Deployment of the observers is the latest stage in a peace deal reached after talks last week in Sweden. Both sides in the conflict agreed to a cease-fire in Hodeidah and the withdrawal of their forces within 21 days.

“Both parties said publicly they are abiding by the cease-fire,” a UN official said on Tuesday.

Local authorities and police will run the city and its three port facilities under UN supervision, and the two sides are barred from bringing in reinforcements.

UN envoy Martin Griffith said the committee was expected to start its work swiftly “to translate the momentum built up in Sweden into achievements on the ground.”

The truce in Hodeidah officially began at midnight on Monday. Sporadic clashes continued until about 3 a.m. on Tuesday, but residents said there was calm after that.

“We are hopeful that things will go back to the way they were and that there will be no aggression, no airstrikes and lasting security,” said one, Amani Mohammed.

Another resident, Mohammed Al-Saikel, said he was optimistic the cease-fire would pave the way for a broader truce. “We are hopeful about this cease-fire in Hodeidah and one for Yemen in general,” he said. “We will reach out in peace to whoever does the same.”

The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution that asks Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to submit proposals by the end of the month on how to monitor the cease-fire.

The resolution, submitted by the UK, “calls on all parties to the conflict to take further steps to facilitate the unhindered flow of commercial and humanitarian supplies including food, fuel, medicine and other essential imports and humanitarian personnel into and across the country.”